Submission 474
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au
29 May 2026
The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Future Governance) Bill 2025.
NAVA is the national peak body for the visual arts, craft and design sector. We advocate for the rights and professional interests of artists and arts workers, including d/Deaf and Disabled artists, carers, support workers and arts workers working across disability-led and community-based practices.
NAVA’s Code of Practice for Visual Arts, Craft and Design recognises that access is fundamental to the ability of d/Deaf and Disabled people to work, create, exhibit, collaborate, learn and engage in the arts sector. The Code also recognises that accessibility is not limited to physical access, but includes communication, systems, timelines, support structures and organisational processes.
The proposed reforms relating to reassessments, support determinations, administrative requirements and standardised decision-making processes raise significant issues for Disabled artists and arts workers. These changes sit within a broader period of ongoing NDIS reform that is already creating considerable uncertainty across the visual arts sector.
Disabled artists, disability-led arts organisations, carers and support workers must be meaningfully involved in the design, implementation and review of reforms affecting access to supports and engagement in the arts sector.
Many artists work freelance, across short-term projects, exhibitions, workshops, commissions and casual employment. Income is often irregular, and workloads and support needs can fluctuate significantly depending on health, caring responsibilities and access to support. More rigid administrative requirements, stricter communication expectations and reduced flexibility may make it harder for Disabled artists to continue working or access exhibitions, workshops, training, arts programs and employment opportunities. Additional barriers of this kind further separate Disabled artists from the broader visual arts sector and create greater divisions between Disabled and non-disabled artists, rather than supporting shared access to arts spaces, programs and opportunities.
PO Box 60 18000 4 NAVA (6282) ABN 16 003 229Potts Point NSW nava.net.au
Submission 474
The visual arts sector already experiences significant barriers navigating the NDIS system, including confusion around allowable supports, inconsistent decision-making, and poor recognition of arts work within the NDIS. NAVA’s research and consultation within the sector has identified widespread uncertainty regarding appropriate support categories and pricing structures for professional arts services.
Narrowing definitions of what constitutes reasonable and necessary support, would disproportionately affect Disabled artists, particularly where arts activity is treated as discretionary or secondary to other forms of employment or skill development. Arts activity can support communication, confidence, social connection, cultural expression, skill development and employment pathways, including professional arts practice and careers.
Many Disabled artists rely on flexible supports to sustain ongoing engagement in the arts sector. This can include support with communication, transport, preparing and packing artworks, maintaining websites and portfolios, completing grant applications, attending workshops and exhibitions, coordinating projects and maintaining professional relationships and social connections. These activities are often essential to a person’s functional capacity building, self-agency, professional development and ability to safely engage in the arts.
Restricting access to trusted support coordination and flexible support arrangements would reduce Disabled artists’ ability to determine how they develop and sustain their arts practice. Framing these activities solely as “business support” fails to recognise the ways Disabled artists access the arts, maintain social and professional connections, and participate in creative and cultural activity.
Increased reliance on automated or standardised decision-making processes is likely to disadvantage visual artists whose work and careers are often non-linear, intermittent and difficult to fit within rigid administrative categories. Many Disabled artists move between project work, freelance income, study, periods of illness, caring responsibilities and unpaid creative development. Systems must be capable of responding to individual circumstances rather than relying on narrow assumptions about employment, productivity or communication capacity.
Broader reform directions that place greater emphasis on continuous administrative engagement and communication requirements also raise significant concerns. Disabled artists may temporarily disengage from communication systems due to illness, hospitalisation, mental health crisis, inaccessible communication processes, housing instability, caring responsibilities or burnout. These circumstances should not be treated as non-compliance or result in disruption to a person’s supports.
Many Disabled artists cannot engage in arts activity without appropriate support structures. Carers and support workers are often essential to sustaining arts practice and careers and enabling access to workshops, residencies, exhibitions and other opportunities. Consultation undertaken within the visual arts sector identified recurring barriers including inflexible timelines, inaccessible venues, unpaid labour, lack of organisational understanding, and inadequate support arrangements.
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Submission 474
Proposed restrictions affecting unregistered providers would have significant impacts on Disabled artists and disability-led arts practice. Many Disabled artists rely on trusted unregistered providers, peer networks, artist facilitators, community-led organisations and collaborative support arrangements that are flexible and responsive to individual needs. These relationships are often essential to sustaining creative practice, collaborative work, social connection, civic engagement and independent decision-making. Changes that reduce access to these supports would impact Disabled artists working outside of institutional settings.
NAVA recognises the importance of addressing safety and exploitation within the NDIS. However, additional restrictions requiring arts studios, arts workers and arts educators to become NDIS registered providers would create significant administrative, financial and accessibility barriers across the visual arts sector. The added workload is likely to place considerable pressure on small organisations, independent arts workers and Disabled artists already navigating complex systems and fluctuating capacity.
These changes may also reduce access to mentorship, collaborative learning, peer-led programs and informal arts education that are central to many Disabled artists’ creative development. Artistic skills are developed over long periods through workshops, studio programs, community-based arts activity, mentoring relationships and ongoing experimentation. Restricting access to trusted unregistered arts workers and flexible support arrangements would limit Disabled artists’ self-agency, creative independence and ability to determine how, where and with whom they develop their practice.
NAVA recommends that the Committee:
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protect flexible and responsive support arrangements
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recognise the important role of trusted unregistered providers, peer networks and community-based support arrangements within disability arts practice
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ensure communication and compliance measures do not unfairly penalise people during periods of illness, crisis or reduced capacity
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recognise arts activity as both a valid form of social and community engagement and a legitimate pathway for professional arts practice and employment
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retain meaningful human oversight in decision-making processes
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improve consistency, guidance and recognition of arts-related supports within the NDIS beyond the current narrow focus on arts therapy
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ensure Disabled artists, disability-led arts organisations, carers and support workers are directly involved in ongoing consultation and reform processes.
Please contact us for any further information we can provide.
Sincerely,
Penelope Benton
Executive Director
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